Traction and lawn-rolling roller.



H. T. GOL'DWELL. `'IRMIYON AND 'LAWN ROLLING ROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 19-09.

Patented Sept ANDREW. a qwum co. wmmummmmms. wAsHmGTov. D. c.

HARRY T. coLDwELL, `or ivEwBuRs-H, NEW Yoan.

TRACTION AND LAWN-ROLLING ROLLER.

Speccation of `Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. "Z, 1909.

Application filed May 19u, 1989. Serial No. 497,664.

To all wham it may concern:

Be it known that l, HARRY T. CoLDwELL,

citizen of the United States, residing at Newburgh, in the county ofGrange and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Traction and Lawn-Rolling-Rollers; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichillustrates the best form in which I have contemplated embodying m'yinvention and said invention is fully disclosed in the followingdescription and claims.

In the use of motor propelled lawn mowers and rollers, diiiiculty isexperienced at times in securing the desired t-raction of the rollersupon the surface traversed and especially when the lawn is wet, or againwhen it is hard and dry. It is extremely desirable to provide the rolleror rollers with somev means for increasing the traction and which willalso prevent the roller or rollers from slipping sidewise when operatingon an inclined surface. fore resorted to in connection with the tractionwheels or rollers of traction engines, and other road vehicles cannot beused in a lawn mower or roller, for the obvious reason that they wouldcut up or mark a lawn.

Motor lawn mowers, are used very eX- tensively as rollers, both whileactually cutting grass and without operating the cutting mechanism, andthese motor lawn mowers or rollers are used advantageously in rollingtennis courts, many of which are not provided with sod. It is apparent,therefore, that it is very desirable to avoid the use of any tractionincreasing means which involves a projection or projections from theperipheral surface of the traction rollers, as a roller provided withany kind of projecting devices would be prohibited from a dirt tenniscourt.

The object of my present invention is to provide means for increasingthe traction of the rollers of a motor lawn mower or roller, and at thesame time to avoid anyprojections from the surface thereof, so that themachines provided with my improved roller can be effectively used bothon a lawn andv upon a dirt tennis court, or other smooth The variousmeans heretorolled sodless surface, such .as a roque court, etc.

In the drawing, Figure l represents a pervspectivexview of a combinedtraction and lawn rolling roller, embodying my invention, before therecesses therein are filled.

l F ig. 2 isY an enlarged partial section of the same. Fi 3 is asimilarview showing a slight ino' ification.

ln carrying out my invention l provide lthe peripheral surface of thetraction, lawn rolling and court rolling roller, with a plurality ofcomparatively small recesses (or apertures) dispersed over the wholeperipheral surface of the roller, and separated from each other in alldirections. Thus in the drawing l represents the roller and 2, therecesses, which as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are circular in cross sectionand extend only part way through the shell or wall of the roller. Thesaid recesses may, however, be of any preferred shape and may extend allthe way through the shell or wall of the roller as shown at 2a in Fig.3. These recesses or apertures are to be lled with a substance having agreater tractive qualityl than the surface of the roller itself, and Imay employ for this purpose any suitable material 3, such as cork,concrete, clay, rubber, wood, dirt, etc., it being understood that thecontents of said recesses or apertures do not extend beyond, but on thecontrary lie iush with the surface of the roller. The recesses orapertures may be given any desired form which will tend to lock andretain the friction material in its place, as for eX- ample, making therecesses 2 wider at the bottom, and the apertures 2a widest in thecenter between the inner and outer surfaces of the roller wall. Iconveniently fill these said recesses or apertures by operating themachine over some surface like an ordinary roadway and allowing them tobecome filled, with dirt, which will pack therein and harden. The roadmay be sprinkled slightly to facilitate the packing of the recessesbefore the roller is taken onto a lawn or tennis court. It will be seenthat in the operation of this form of roller the friction of the dirt orfilling of the apertures upon the surface of aA lawn will increase thenormal traction of the roller and without in the least marring the lawn,and the machine can be used to roll a tennis or other dirt courtwithoutI marking or roughening it in the least. I may in some cases, usethe roller 1 without filling said recesses, upon a lawn, but in suchcase the recesses would quickly become filled with grass and dirt whichwould provide the iush frictional surface.

In the following claims I have used the term apertures as coveringeither a recess which extends partly through the wall of the roller, asshown in Fig. 2, or an aperture which extends entirely through thesaine, as shown in Fig. 3.

What I claim and desire to secure by Let- A ters Patent is l. A tractionlawn and court rolling roller, having a plain cylindrical surface,provided with apertures separated from each other in all directions,whereby said apertures will become filled with foreign matter, and pro-Ivide a plurality of friction spots flush With the surface of the roller.

2. A traction lawn and court rolling roller,

having a plain cylindrical Surface, 'provided with a plurality offriction surfaces, Hush with the surface of the roller and separatedfrom each other in all directions.

8. A traction lawn and court rolling roller, having a plain cylindricalsurface, provided with apertures separated from each other in alldirections, and a filling of material having greater frictionalresistance than the surface of the roller, located in said apertures andhaving its outer surface liush with the other portions of the surface ofthe roller.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

HARRY T. COLDVVELL.

Witnesses H. W. MUR'rrELDT, MYRoN S. EMBLER.

